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the abandoned tower of death

The abandoned Thai Fa Group office tower in Bang Na, Bangkok is another victim of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis (known locally as the 'Tomyumgoong' crisis of 2540). It was never finished and never officially opened its doors. It has a tragic past of suicide, accident, and murder, and nowadays is walled off in the front and with sharp, rusty metal obstacles and wooden barriers on the side walls and entry stairs. A family looks after the property now, prohibiting outsiders from entering.

I’ve seen it often while driving on the Bang Na-Trat tollway. It stands out as it is one of the taller buildings in the area, especially since it is the only one that is unfinished and covered in graffiti. I’ve always wondered about that building and been curious to look inside.

The front of the building is completely walled off and the gate is locked. I found a video on
YouTube showing how to gain access by balancing on a concrete beam over a canal, then walking through a wooded area and climbing a wall. We did that, only to find that the wall had sharp metal and other obstructions on it to discourage anyone from coming in. We ended up negotiating with a family that lives there looking after the place. We agreed that, for a few hundred baht, we would only go to the third floor, but we ended up ‘getting lost’ and making it up to the roof. The people there are concerned with their responsibility for the safety of anyone who goes into the tower. It is a very dangerous and perilous property, with sharp metal obstacles, a multitude of huge drop-offs, enormous holes in the floors, and no railing or safety guard to be found anywhere. They also want to keep the property clear of the criminal activity which was common at the site in the past.

The first 10 or so floors were built as a parking garage, with the upper floors planned to be offices for the Thai Fa Group, a construction/contracting company.

A murder occurred at the tower on August 22, 2012 (2555). A man that resided on the 1st and 2nd floor went to the roof with his girlfriend to watch the sunset over the city and caught a foul smell, then found a body. They called the police who came and found a man had been murdered with some sort of blunt force trauma to his head. The police suspected the man to be a part of a group of thieves that came to steal copper wiring. They believed he had a falling out with this criminal group and was killed as a result. Video here: https://goo.gl/4wIXRB

Another incident occurred when a foreigner who had recently broken up with his girlfriend was found hung on the rooftop of the building. This happened on April 2, 2012 (2555). A few people had snuck in to take photos on the rooftop (at that time there were guards in the daytime but not at night). They found the man's body hanging from a rope on the roof. Then, for some reason, they called a famous singer friend instead of the police. The singer (Anand Anwar) then called the police. They found a credit card and his girlfriend's photo with a note written on the wall which read: 'try to remember what was good. sorry is not enough.' He was 30 years old. Story here in thai, the above link in English: https://goo.gl/MsT2r3

At least 3 other people have died from falling deaths from the tower, all reported to be suicides.